Week of March 28, 2015

Each week, Graham "GSM" Matthews breaks down the week in WWE by analyzing the Raw, SmackDown and NXT broadcasts as well as the monthly pay-per-view events for that respective show's highlights, low points and other noteworthy monumental moments. Also, awards are given to the week's greatest match, the most impressive Superstar and the best show.

Match of the Week: Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor - NXT, March 25

Monday's Raw was fully focused on providing last minute hype for WrestleMania 31 on Sunday, so while it succeeded in that respect, the in-ring action was nothing special (nor did it need to be). That said, it left the wrestling portion up to NXT on Wednesday night. Personally, I absolutely love the two match format for NXT and I thought it made for a great show this week (which I'll get into a bit more shortly), being highlighted by an absolutely fantastic matchup between Kevin Owens and Finn Balor for the NXT Championship. Initially, I was hesitant to see them face off so soon since they're two of the biggest stars in NXT at the moment and a match between them is money (or as money as NXT can get), but it's evident they're both main roster bound sooner rather than later, so it was great to the match. They were given great time, making the most of it by contesting a highly competitive back-and-forth bout. Balor was made to look strong in defeat, while Owens looked as dominant than ever. I think it goes without saying that a rematch must be in order.

Superstar of the Week: Brock Lesnar

Normally, I give this award to the Superstar who impressed me the most or had a stellar showing throughout the course of the week However, I've decided to make a rare exception for Brock Lesnar this time around. He may not have been on SmackDown (and he hasn't been since 2004), and his appearance on Raw wasn't anything of note, but he's been the most consistently talked about Superstar all week long. Of course, this is due in part to the announcement that he has re-signed with WWE and will be sticking around for at least the next three years. As someone who strongly believes he has added to the product considerably since he returned in 2012, I find this to be great news. Moreover, it has made the main event of WrestleMania this Sunday all the more interesting. Is there a chance Lesnar walks out with the title intact?

What does the future hold for the newly re-signed WWE World Champion Brock Lesnar?

Show of the Week: WWE NXT, March 25

Let me start off by saying that I really enjoyed Raw from Monday night. I thought it was highly successful in building toward WrestleMania 31 and making every (okay, most) match on the card mean something. I was already extremely excited for the event and still am, but this show only served as reminder of how good it has the potential to be. However, the only thing that keeps it from winning the award for the Show of the Week is its atrocious ending. What in the blue hell was that? A tug-of-war for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship between the two men that will main event WrestleMania? Seriously? I thought it was a joke at first, but I realized it wasn't, it became obvious to me that NXT would be taking the award this week if it was near perfect. And it was. As noted earlier, I very much enjoy the two match format, as it makes both bouts feel special. I realize it can't be done every week, but when it is, it makes for a fun hour. The two championship matches were excellent, keeping my spirits high as WrestleMania quickly approaches.

Other Notable Highlights and Low Points

This Week's Highlights

Sting, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon segment: This may come as a surprise to some, but I'm looking forward to Sting vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 31 more than anything else on the card. It may not be a mat classic from an in-ring action standpoint, but the build over the last several months dating back to Survivor Series in November has been very well handled. Their segment from Raw only assured me we'll be witness something special on Sunday, as Sting's promo was superb while Triple H and Stephanie were fantastic in their respective roles. Leaving fans wanting to see the two get physical was certainly the right move to make.

Bray Wyatt promo: Personally, I haven't minded The Undertaker not being on TV because it will make his first appearance at WrestleMania feel more special, but one can only imagine how much hotter this feud would be if he was on Raw most weeks to promote it. That said, Wyatt deserves all the credit in the world for carrying this feud and making it worthwhile. His promo on the go-home show on Raw was his best yet, making me want to see his match with Undertaker more than ever before. Let's just hope he's better off coming out of 'Mania and not damaged like he was last year.

Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler: While I enjoyed their encounter on SmackDown from the week prior slightly more, this was still a very good match, though Dean Ambrose served little to no purpose as the special guest referee. I'd love to see Ziggler and Bryan have a nice, lengthy feud over the Intercontinental Championship following WrestleMania as it would be a step in the right direction of getting that belt back to meaning something. As for the post-match brawl with all the Ladder match competitors, it was a decent way of putting more heat on the match before Sunday.

Curtis Axel, Snoop Dogg and Hulk Hogan: I honestly didn't think it would last for as long as it did, but props to Axel for making Axemania entertaining these last two months. The payoff with Hogan was very fun and I hope Axel gets something this out of this after WrestleMania (even though I'm sure he won't). This was a good use of Snoop Dogg as well considering he's a fan at heart and didn't waste anyone's time, unlike Wiz Khalifa.

Divas match hype: It's been so refreshing to see the Divas actually get a chance to showcase their skills for once. Paige and Nikki Bella had an above average match on Monday and followed it up with an excellent talking segment on SmackDown. This is the first women's match in years at WrestleMania I'm looking forward to and I hope they're given the time to go out there and have the match they're capable of.

This Week's Low Points

Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns play tug-of-war: I assumed the final face-off between these two on the Raw before WrestleMania 31 would be the saving grace of this disappointing feud. Man, was I wrong or what? Paul Heyman's promo was exceptional, per usual, but he's been the only thing making the main event of 'Mania worth watching. I, much like everyone else, was expecting something much more than a stupid tug-of-war to close out the show. I would've preferred they have spoken, but even a simple staredown would have sufficed. Sure, the news of Lesnar re-signing with WWE made people more interested in their 'Mania match, but it doesn't excuse this horrendous ending.

Rusev vs. Jack Swagger: Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Rusev's subsequent attack on John Cena, but this match was a complete waste of time. It's one thing to get a little extra heat on Rusev before his clash with Cena on Sunday, but why does it always have to be against Swagger? We get it: Rusev is superior to Swagger. There's no need to do the match a million times over. And this is coming from someone who enjoyed their early encounters last summer. I'm positive there's a bunch of other names from the undercard that Rusev could squash that would prevent us from seeing the same match over and over.

Inter-species six-person tag team match: Of all the rematches from SmackDown to do on Raw, it had to be this one? It was stupid enough to do once, so for WWE to do it again only days later was ridiculous. Worse yet, Los Matadores won! Granted, neither of the tag champs were pinned, but El Torito pinning Natalya wasn't much better. How WWE thought this would get fans excited for the Fatal 4-Way WWE Tag Team Championship match is beyond me. There are simpler ways of building to a match without insulting the intelligence of your audience with silly stipulations like this one.

10-man tag team match: Although it was fine for what it was, it didn't do anything to move the meter for me when it comes to being excited for the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. At least it didn't make me less excited for it like last week. The Miz attacking Damien Mizdow last week was great, yet to have the two back on the same page this week seemed like a step backward.

Jimmy Uso vs. Fernando vs. Big E vs. Cesaro: Again, I didn't mind the match and at the very least the stipulation wasn't asinine, but nothing at this point is going to make me care about the poorly built WWE Tag Team Championship match on the WrestleMania Kickoff show. Like this match, it could be well-wrestled for all we know, but The New Day and Los Matadores being involved hinders my interest significantly.